Seal of Virginia

Virginia State Seal

Bronze rendering of Virginia's state seal at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; photo by Cliff (cliff1066) on Flickr (noncommercial and educational use permitted with attribution).

Official State Seal of Virginia

The great seal of Virginia is based on a design described in the convention of 1776:

"Virtus, the genius of the commonwealth, dressed like an Amazon, resting on a spear with one hand, and holding a sword in other, and treading on tyranny, represented by a man prostrate, a crown fallen from his head, a broken chain in his left hand and a scourge in his right. In the exergon the word Virginia over the head of Virtus, and underneath the motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis." All State Seals